1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand-launched rocket for use as a child""s toy. The hand-launched toy rocket has particular utility in entertaining a child by self-launching for a second flight upon striking the ground from the initial flight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Children have long enjoyed toys that relate to flight in general and rockets in particular. Powered model rockets, which are very small versions of real rockets, are available in all sizes, shapes, and cost. Since these are usually considered too dangerous for small children to play with without adult supervision, simpler and safer hand-launched rockets, which a child can launch for short flights, are popular.
The use of hand-launched toy rockets is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,765 to Schatz discloses a bouncing toy rocket that is similar in function to the present invention. This toy rocket is thrown on to the ground where a spring-loaded ball at the exhaust end of the rocket is used to launch (bounce) the rocket for a short flight. However, the Schartz ""765 patent discloses a rocket that is different in structure from the present invention and is not catapulted into the air for an initial flight, nor does it self-launch for a second flight upon striking the ground from the initial flight.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,292 to Butler et al. discloses one and two-stage compressed air launched toy rockets. However, the Butler ""292 patent is different in structure from the present invention and does not disclose a hand catapulted rocket that provides a self-launched second flight upon striking the ground.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,564 to Quercetti discloses launching pad and flying toy combination. However, the Quercetti ""564 patent is different in structure from the present invention and does not disclose a hand catapulted rocket that provides a self-launched second flight upon striking the ground.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,250 to Hudson discloses a toy dart that is hand thrown and has a bulbous head portion filled with air or liquid, which is used to produce noise, water spray, or soap bubbles upon striking a hard surface. However, the Hudson ""250 patent is also different in structure from the present invention and does not disclose a hand catapulted rocket that provides a self launched second flight upon striking the ground.
Lastly, U.S. Des. Pat. No. D346,844 to D"" Andrade, U.S. Des. Pat. No.D347,865 to Bertrand, and U.S. Des. Pat. No. D185,870 to Apostolescu disclose designs of toy rockets that may be of general interest and pertinent to the construction and design of the present invention. However, none of these patents disclose a hand-launched toy rocket having the design features or structure of the present invention.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a safe and easy to use hand-launched toy rocket that can be hand catapulted into the air for an initial flight followed by a self-launched second flight upon striking the ground.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved hand-launched toy rocket, which is safe and easy to use that can be hand catapulted into the air for an initial flight followed by a self-launched second flight upon striking the ground. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the hand-launched toy rocket according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a safe and inexpensive toy that can provide many hours of fun and enjoyment for children.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of toy rockets now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved hand-launched toy rocket, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved hand-launched toy rocket and method of use that has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a toy rocket which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a cylindrical toy rocket that measures at least 8-inches long and 2xc2xd inches in diameter. The rocket has a weighted rubber nose cone that is mounted on an inner slide tube that fits inside the rocket""s main body tube in contact with a compression spring. Both the main body tube and the inner slide tube are fabricated from a lightweight tubular material. At least three guide fins are attached to the outside of the main body tube at the bottom (exhaust) end of the rocket. The rocket is launched by means of an attached tether and gripping handle. The hand-launched toy rocket is a new toy that can provide outdoor entertainment for boys and girls. There is no operational cost associated with the toy since it is manually-operated. The toy will provide exercise, imagination, and all-around fun for any player.
In use, the handle is gripped in the hand of the user and swung in a vertical circular motion starting in an upward direction. The rocket is then released such that it is catapulted upward into the sky along an initial flight path. When the rocket reaches its apex and starts a descent, the heavier nose cone will assume a downward position. Upon impact with the ground, the nose cone and inner sliding tube are forced into the main tube body of the rocket, thereby compressing and storing potential energy in the spring. The spring then releases this stored energy, catapulting the rocket back into the air along a secondary flight path. Depending on the height of the initial flight, the rocket could make additional self-launches beyond the secondary flight launch, with each launch reaching a lower apex.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a new hand-launched toy rocket that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hand-launched toy rocket that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved hand-launched toy rocket that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such toy rockets economically available to the buying public.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new, improved, safer method of playing with toy rockets by children.